Can A Probiotic Reduce Stress Levels?

My life seems to be a constant stream of chaos and stress at the moment. I home educate my two children through the day, including plenty of kids classes and groups, work in the evenings and we’ve been busy almost every weekend for months! I love my life and I do enjoy being busy, but being busy all the time can be quite stressful and take it’s toll on both body and mind.

So for the last month I’ve been taking a new probiotic called Zenflore. Zenflore gives support to your body and mind in busy and stressful times. It’s a completely natural occuring culture that consists of bacteria related to those given to a baby by a mother at birth, 1714-Serenitas culture. The 1714-Serenitas culture is involved in regulating the immune system, increases the activity in the parts of the brain that are associated with memory, emotions and learning. It also reduces the stress hormone – cortisol.

So how does Zenflore actually work? The probiotic strain in Zenflore becomes part of the gut microbiota which aids communication between the gut and the brain, this is called the gut-brain axis. The majority of nerve fibres that run along the gut run between the gut and brain and can influence the how the gut and brain communicate. The bacteria in the gut produce 50% of the Dopamine and 90% of the Serotonin in the body, these are neurotransmitters that affect mood and feelings including happiness. Current research shows that a gut with healthy micorbiota can predict healthy emotional and mental health. Clearly this is something that we should all be thinking about it, especially when mental health makes such big headlines at the moment.

I wasn’t quite sure if Zenflore would work for me, but after a 4 week trial I definitely noticed a difference. I didn’t feel stressed about my ever growing ‘to-do’ list and despite my amount of sleep not changing (littlest is determined that sleep is for the weak!), I felt bright and alert each morning.

With a reduction in stress I can be a much more efficient worker. Plus I have a lot more energy to play and learn with the kids! Another thing that I noticed was that I didn’t pick up the kids colds as easily as I normally would. Perhaps this was down to my immune system being healthier and not compromised by stress and fatigue.

Zenflore can be taken with any other medications as there are no known interactions with other supplements or medicines. It also doesn’t make you drowsy and can be taken with or without food and doesn’t require refrigeration.

Although I have now finished my trial, I am certainly planning on buying more. Especially in the Christmas period which can get very busy and stressful.

4 Comments

I always feel better when I remember to take a probiotic! I’d never thought about them reducing stress though, that sounds great. At the moment my stress relief involves swimming in a freezing cold river – maybe taking a probiotic would be an easier option!!
Nat.x

This is really interesting. My husband suffers from depression and anxiety and is on a cocktail of tablets which all have side-effects and so often end up making him feel worse! I’ve actually just sourced some probiotics online which he’s started to take as the latest thoughts on depression are that it starts in the gut with the accumulation of bad bacteria. It’ll be very interesting to see if there’s any positive difference in his mood in the months to come … x

I echo the comments above. My husband also suffers in the same way. Having read this article and those comments, I am definitely going to introduce probiotics. Especially as he also suffers from diverticulitis too.